Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Nicely on March 13, 2008 at 12:46pm

I love what I do. When customers come through my line and see how passionate I am about this and what I do for them, often I receive lots of positive feedback. Yeah I know that some customers don't care about what's on the top of their coffee however, that shouldn't stop you as a barista from paying close attention to the presentation of it. Which is where I believe the latte art comes in. When I choose to snap a photo of something I deem really special, I'm quick, courteous, and thankful to the customer for allowing me to add it to my collection. They're often flattered and I invite them to check out espressovivace.com or my flickr.com/photos/naturallyabel. When you take care in not only the extraction of the coffee but the detail of it's appearance that is part of the experience of coming and going to espresso bars like the ones most of us work at. The customers that seek us out and really appreciate what we do are the ones we're really doing this for. The other ones are just along for the ride and I can't tell you how many times I tend to convert them. Otherwise, that's what the chains are for.

Permalink Reply by Jonathan Lawson on March 22, 2008 at 1:28pm

Hi, it's my first day here.

The latte art is but one link in the chain. It is positive feedback to the barista that, yes, the milk is steamed properly and builds confidence that can be conveyed to the customer through the barista's attitude. Both sides of the counter win.

But that has to be tempered with the knowledge that just because your milk is "all that" it has to be paired with an equally excellent shot or else pretty rosettas stop becoming a promise of excellence to come.

About being made to wait while a picture was taken. I've done that but it was a pretty kick-ass, competition level double rosetta and it was in the coffee of a regular I know well and I asked if it was okay before I did it. No matter how great the art was, I would never hold up a new visitor or someone who wasn't a friend just to stroke my ego.

Permalink Reply by Jordan on March 28, 2008 at 12:04pm

Rosetta's are the gateway drug to what being a barista is all about... the coffee. sadly most people don't know the difference between a well extracted espresso from a poor one. Rosetta's will grab these people's attention (hopefully) to the art and craft that went into their drink, and ultimately this will make them more attentive to how it tastes. Also when they go to the big green moster they might ask the barista pushing buttons why their drink doesn't have a rosetta. My understanding of Rosetta and latte art in general is that it is only intended to show pride and dedication to the recipiant of said drink, but latte art shouldnt be used to cover up a bad shot. pouring rosetta with bad shots is dishonest...

Permalink Reply by Danny on March 28, 2008 at 7:38pm

Definitely agree with you Jordan. That's why, when we serve customers standing at the bar, we go to the extent of placing the shots in front of the customer and pour the latte art in front of them. They can see the shot and its crema and watch how the rosetta forms when poured. The oohs and ahhs motivates the Barista and staffs to want to learn and achieve the same.

Permalink Reply by Deferio on March 30, 2008 at 3:42pm

Well if the barista is pouring "lame" latte art then it's no wonder there is a disconnect here.

Permalink Reply by lindsaytron on April 3, 2008 at 12:18pm

i think customers are impressed with nice latte art,
they get all excited and show their friends and whatnot
but so far,
i think it's almost always a bigger deal to me than my patrons when i make a super-sweet-lookin drink
but then again, i'm still fairly new to latte art so maybe when i make consistently better latte art than i do now, and it's not a new thing to me, the nice presentation will mean more to the customer, and hopefully a little somethin extra like that will encourage their return business.

Permalink Reply by Alex Negranza on May 1, 2008 at 1:58am

Well put, Stormer. I was going to say the same but decided that I was going to read all of the other replies before I started spouting off about proper milk steaming. Does proper milk steaming and latte art go hand-in-hand?

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